Richard is an IStructE Fellow and ICE Fellow, a Freeman of the City of London, and an IStructE Lewis Kent Award recipient.
What inspired you to join the National Trust ?
Before I joined the National Trust (NT) I was a Member for over 20 years and so a supporter of the charity. My 28 years in consultancy up to joining NT in 2019, on reflection, largely involved clients operating very large estates, including Health Trusts, Universities and transportation operators (London Underground, Network Rail, Bombardier and MTR Hong Kong). It was the opportunity to take up the first Civil & Structural Engineer position in NT’s history which inspired the most. The role requirement included supporting as a landowner representative on projects such as Stonehenge Road Tunnel, the A417 Missing Link and HS2-NT land interfaces. It also involved new urban projects such as Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester, maintaining the structural engineering engagement.
What are the greatest achievements of your career ?
London Underground’s £650 million Bank Station development is certainly an achievement worthy of note. My roles on the design and build contract were fortunate to extend across the successful tender, the design process and then into construction implementation at Bank-Monument station. The engineering challenges were many, every square metre, tunnelling under the greatest concentration of listed buildings in the UK, in the heart of the City of London. This proved to be a real definition of complexity, requiring many specialists and best in class engagement with interfacing land and property owners. The key learning from this project is the need for Structural Engineers to retain an ability to contribute to, and lead on, technical aspects of legal drafting and legal agreements. At Bank Station we negotiated many Land & Works Agreements with building owners, focusing on asset protection and building damage mitigation.
How would you define Asset Management at the National Trust ?
It’s about the careful management of assets well beyond normal Design Life periods, and extending their Working Life, always including commercially viable solutions. Heritage Asset Management incorporates determining legal standards, significance assessments, compliance, condition ratings, surveying, reinstatement cost assessments and importantly, the need for independent, expert, critical challenge. Occasionally, managing the decline of a built asset is also part of asset management.
The ability to undertake due diligence inspections and reports with potential acquisitions is vital, with a recent case study regarding the NT’s acquisition of the Ironbridge estate.
Why is the ability to manage existing structures important ?
In October 2025 I was invited to attend the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) international conference on Enabling Better Infrastructure. The conference brought together policymakers, strategic planners and global infrastructure experts from New Zealand, Canada, the US, UK&I, Hong Kong, Chile, Brazil and Saint Lucia. Hon Chris Bishop, Minister for Housing & Infrastructure, New Zealand made a point to highlight the need to better understand data on asset ownership and condition, and asset change, globally.
What does Fellow Membership of the Institution mean to you ?
Being elected to Fellow grade in 2014 was a career high point, at the age of 44. At this stage I felt personally content that sufficient significant attributes were obtained to submit a credible submission.
Obtaining CEng with IStructE at my first written examination, the dreaded seven hour test, was immensely rewarding given the months of preparation. I recall listening to the guidance from mentors, one of which advised to leave the IStructE chartered test until your late twenties, which I did. Thankfully their wise words steered a successful outcome. My experience was not developed enough in my mid-twenties to enable a credible attempt.
How have you interacted with the Institution during your career ?
Most importantly I am a dedicated supporter of the annual CPD return, now extending back to 25 years of continuous completed returns. I find great benefit from the yearly discipline and rigour required to prepare and submit the submission, knowing the evidence of securing an approval from IStructE is professionally very rewarding. Demonstrating competence, continually, across your career is now an expected given in many peer professions.
My volunteer support of IStructE extends across the Northern Ireland Region (Honorary Secretary, PRI Panel and Chair), Engineering Practice Committee, Professional Development Panel, Philosophy of Structural Design Task Group, Professional Review Panel, Engineering Council and the Design, Safety and Risk Committee.